Haunted House-wares

HINT: Sharpie Oil Based Paint Markers work best for projects involving; glass, metal, pottery, wood, rubber, plastic, stone, and more. They are quick-drying and resistant to water (but not waterproof), fading, and abrasion!

Spidey stemware?

Inspiration and image by Etsy designer, MaryElizabethArts, (be sure to check out ALL of her other designs!)

Sharpie fan and fashion fanatic, Erica Domesek, has made a career of transforming expensive fashion trends into doable DIY projects. She sees it, she likes it, she makes it, is her motto.

Is it any surprise, then, that Sharpie is one of her favorite DIY staples? Sharpie discovered her three years ago and invited her to join the Sharpie Squad, a group of some of Sharpie’s most passionate fans.

This year, Erica will be featured in Sharpie’s new print ad campaign, along with the standard-issue pencil case she transformed with Sharpie into a ready-for-recess — or the runway — purse using brand new Stained by Sharpie fabric markers. Stained markers are formulated for use on most fabrics and include a brush tip for expressive strokes.

Sharpie Squad member, Erica Domesek of P.S. -I Made This… was featured on E! News, Wednesday, May 18th! E!’s Cat Sadler reports how our squad member creates runway inspired fashions, accesories and more at an affordable cost using every day items.

In the news segment, Domesek demonstrates how to DIY a beaded statement necklace, a fashionable clutch for your iPad using colors from Prada’s runway collection and a Vera Wang inspired belt that doubles as a headband.

Browsing through the Wall Street Journal yesterday, I spotted an article titled Who’s the Boss? When Jobs Are Scarce, the Kids Are. After getting over the mental image of a Tony Danza sitting at a typewriter on the set of one 80′s sitcom, I proceeded to read about the youth of America working to make a dime.

Adults are not the only ones affected by the recession -kids, tweens, and teens and are too. Jobs are scarce and with the summer months approaching, this is the time of the year when most young adults will be looking for work.

Sure we’ve all had summer jobs before – maybe retail sales of food service was your thing, but due to the lack of jobs, today’s youth is looking at summer vacation as more of an entrepreneur opportunity. “If you can’t find a job, you can create your own” says Steve Mariotti, founder of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.

The article profiles 5+ young business owners who have taken it upon themselves to make work when they could not find it. One girl in particular, 17yr old Sonika Singh sells hand designed sneakers in her start-up “Rage Shoes.” Like many of you, Singh uses paints and Sharpie markers to create her designs on sneakers but she takes it a step further and makes a profit from them!

You never know, those Sharpie’d sneakers, denim and backpacks you’re sporting may have potential to earn you some extra cash. Take a tip from the kids in this article and the thousands of others out there and do something! The possibilities are endless.

Inspired by the exotic leopard prints she’s been spotting (no pun intended) in the fashion & design scene Emily of Penscola, FL decided to take the print from the great outdoors and bring it into her own home. The author of High on the Tide, a design and DIY blog, drew a black and white leopard print on five dining room chairs using a black Sharpie Permanent Marker.

Emily shares her design inspiration and snow leopard print project step by step on her blog. Here’s a look at a few of her pics:

Erica Domesek of P.S. -I Made This… lived every girl’s dream hosting a launch party for her new book at the Kate Spade Flagship Broome Street store in New York. With a group of fashion’s finest, Erica and Deborah Lloyd, Kate Spade’s Chief Creative Officer celebrated by creating one of a kind designs on Kate Spade’s London tote and limited edition “P.S.- I made this… with Kate Spade” bags. Other guests and DIY stars included Grace Bonney of Design Sponge, stylist Andrew Mukamal, Brittany Law of Style Republic, Michelle Adams of Lonny Magazine and Lauren Sherman & Leah Chernikoff of Fashionista.com.

Here are a few pictures from the event and of course you can see even more at Kate Spade.

bejewel. bedeck. bedazzel.

picture perfect

Erica Domesek

fashion's movers & shakers

glitz & glam

love these limited edition totes

If you love Erica’s Kate Spade London tote, she offers a how-to on her site for you to recreate the design. Click here to check it out!

Handing over the mic this morning to Sharpie Intern, Jacque Smith. A ’09 grad, Jacque majored in PR at Illinois State University with minors in French and International Studies (pretty impressive, eh!?). With a love for new technology and all things social, “Jack-attack” has been helping the team stay on top of new trends and hot topics in the ever-changing social space.

Recently, Jacque had the chance to lead a Q&A with potentially one of our youngest and ever-so talented Sharpie Artists, Miriah Garnett…

Sharpie fanatics would agree: give someone a Sharpie and expect INKspiration! Read how Miriah Garnett created a stylish design on her sister’s book bag (that got the sister seal of approval), her other Sharpie uses, and Miarah’s advice to other young artists:

Tell me about yourself:

I’m Miriah Garnett, an International Baccalaureate student at North Hagerstown High School. I love to listen to music. It’s a big part of my life. Along with music, I enjoy painting, decorating, doing my nails, scrap booking, reading, texting, and of course shopping. I am a big fan of R&B, hip-hop, pop, and old school music. I’m a fan of M&Ms, especially the new pretzel kind. I’m a huge Twilight fan. I have read all the books and I am anxiously awaiting the premier of the 4th movie, Breaking Dawn. Some things I don’t like are: stinkbugs (they’re really gross), country music and gory horror movies.

What year in school are you? Any favorite classes? Extra-curriculars?

I am in the Eleventh grade. My favorite class is Biology, because I really enjoy sciences and plan to go into the medical field when I’m older. I am involved in the art and scrap-booking clubs at my school.

What inspired you to design a book bag for your sister?

In Kindergarten, it has been a sort of tradition to decorate your tote bag for school, which is something I even did as a kid. So, my little sister Armani (being the girlie girl that she is) wanted a cute design for her book bag. To get some ideas, we went to our local fabric store to look for some pretty prints or designs for some inspiration. We found one that was pink with doodles. Using this design, I incorporated my own twist to it and went all out decorating the whole book bag in this manner.

Of all art supplies, why Sharpie? What made you choose to customize the backpack with Sharpie markers?

I chose Sharpie because, since my mom is an art teacher, we have always trusted Sharpies to have precise lines and long lasting effects. Sharpies have also always had bright and vibrant colors that I love.

Have you customized any other school supplies or accessories?

I use Sharpie markers to label school supplies and clothes, make card designs, when organizing, to color Shrinky Dinks, to sign t-shirts, and to draw temporary tattoos.

What goes into designing a backpack? How long does it take?

Designing a book bag is actually a very simple, easy, and creative way to design something by adding your own unique touch. In order to design one all you need to know is what you want to create on your book bag and what Sharpie colors you would like to use. Depending on how intricate the design is will determine how long it will take to finish the book bag. The designs could range from flower patterns, to a drawing of your favorite sports team’s logo. The possibilities are limitless.

Dad, Mom, and Armani show off her new, stylish bookbag

How did your sister react to your Sharpie masterpiece?My sister absolutely ♥loved♥the book bag. It was cute and girlie and was everything she was hoping for. It was definitely something we would not have found in the store.

Top 5 essential items that are always in yourbook bag:

Books (I’ve never gone home from school without books—ever!)

My huge, graphing display calculator

Different colored pens and pencils, including my Sharpie markers

Portable hole punch

USB flash drive

Aside from customizing some really cool backpacks, what else do you enjoying doing on your down time?

As I said before , I love listening to music. I am also a big fan of shopping for shoes. Even just shopping in general “floats my boat.” I also love to design and paint my own nails. It’s something I have started doing for a year or two and really enjoy. It’s a different way of expressing yourself.

One last question… are you a fan of Glee or High School Musical? What character do you relate to the most & of all the cast members, who would you most want to design a backpack for?!

I’m a fan of High School Musical! My obsession phase is very much over, but I can still sing any song by heart . I would have to say that of all the characters, I relate to Gabriella Montez the most because of having to transfer to a new school and meet different people. I can also relate to her “nerdy” side because of being part of the IB program. If I could design a backpack for someone, it would have to Sharpay Evans because of her bold and unique style—it is a style within itself.

Sharpie Squad member, Alli Whitmore of One Pearl Button has concocted the perfect amount of sparkle and shine for the holidays. Her faux gilded candleholders are chic and make for a glowing accent to any tablescape and are even a great hostess gift.

Alli runs through a simple step by step how-to for making these festive candleholders. With just a few simple supplies and Alli’s “Sharpie Stencil Technique” your home will be glowing all season long.

What You’ll Need:

Glass cups – Anything that will fit a votive or tea light candle will work – from thrifted cups to old jars.

Step 1: Spray a light coating of adhesive onto the back of the doily and stick it onto your cup. Or, if you’re like me, discover that your spray adhesive has adhered its nozzle shut, be too afraid of getting adhesive in your eyes to try to fix it, and use a glue stick instead. Whatever works!

Make sure to press all the little pieces down firmly!

Step 2: Following the directions from my Sharpie Stencil Technique, use the paint pen to color all the open spaces of your doily.

Step 3: If you’d like, trace a line around the outside edge of the doily.

Step 4: Wait a minute for everything to dry a bit, then peel the doily off of the cup (my favorite part!). Don’t worry if some pieces are stubborn.

Step 5:Let the cup sit for a few hours to set the paint. When it has thoroughly dried, run it under warm water and rub gently to remove any excess glue and paper.

Step 6: Place a votive or tea light inside and enjoy the glow!

Big thanks to One Pearl Button for this clever Sharpie DIY! Do you have any Sharpie holiday tips and tricks up your sleeve? Tell us about them!

Today, Jean Naveau from the Sharpie UK team is stepping in to give you the latest in Sharpie news. Our UK team was recently at London Fashion Weekend where they hosted a Sharpie DIY pop-up shop. At the “Sharpie shop” the fashion hungry flocked to design tote bags using a rainbow of Sharpie Permanent Markers. Jean has a lot to share with you about this fabulous fashion-filled weekend…

Wow – what a busy month we’ve had in the UK! But now I’ve finally recovered and am feeling far more alive I can fill you guys in on how fabulous Sharpie was at London Fashion Weekend. Just to give you the lowdown (if you don’t know already), Sharpie was one of the official partners of this fashion-fuelled frenzy and as such we got the opportunity to have our very own stand at the event – see below for evidence…

Now, to say our stand was popular doesn’t do it justice, it was THE place to be. Forget the clothes, forget the catwalk show, people actually flocked to us in their hoards for the chance to customise a Sharpie canvas bag with their own fashion-inspired masterpieces and cor blimey did we get some gooduns!

Here are some of my favourites…

Our stand attracted so much attention, that even when the bar got full, the space surrounding us was taken up with Sharpie doodlers! They were sitting on the floor, resting against the wall, finding whatever space they could which would allow them to get creative. And after 600 plus entries we could only pick one designer to win the much sought-after prize of £500 worth of shopping vouchers. The decision was tough and long, but (drum roll please) we chose Bhavika as our favourite design and we hope you guys agree!